Robotic Car Attacks Pikes Peak

With no driver aboard and only a techie strapped into the passenger seat, this Audi TTS provides the ultimate thrill!

Stanford University plans an entry in this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb that could well be a techie's ultimate thrill ride. You strap into the passenger seat of an and storm up the 12.4 miles and 156 corners—teetering past abysmal dropoffs—with no one whatsoever in the driver's seat!

The TTS is named Shelley, honoring ace rallyist Michèle Mouton, and is the latest autonomously controlled vehicle from Stanford's Center for Automotive Research. The car is equipped with computerized controls and GPS hardware identifying its location. Like earlier vehicles entered in events sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Shelley is fully autonomous, programmed with little more than waypoints. And though the DARPA events rewarded speed in desert and mock-urban venues, pushing the limits of handling, acceleration and braking are new challenges for Shelley researchers.

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"You want to get as much force out of the tires as you can at all times," said one. "So when you're in the straightaway, you want to be accelerating as hard as possible. And when you get to a corner, you want to brake as hard as you can." Through the corner as well, the car's controls are optimized to work the tires and suspension to their utmost.

You can watch a video of Shelley kicking up dust at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, its... er... her steering wheel all the while performing quick little corrections. There's a failsafe researcher in the driver's seat, but he keeps his hands utterly to himself.

Imagine the immense adrenaline rush being strapped into the Stanford TTS's passenger seat while Shelley storms up Pike Peak at full scoot!

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